Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?

Hi, Lisa--nice to meet you!

Taco, happy anniversary--56 years? Wow!

I didn't post yesterday due to scanxiety over my ocular-onc visit today. Fortunately, not to worry--everything is stable and the tumor even shrank a little since May. Things went a bit more slowly at the clinic--they added a new higher-res retinal scanner to the OCT camera; and because the ultrasonographer quit for a better-paying job, an ohthalmology fellow (MD) had to take the ultrasound scan. New machine with gentler probe made it a more tolerable experience. Still on the "3-month followup" plan, but if all is well by this time next year I will move to twice yearly. Because I had to have my pupils dilated, I'm missing out on the chance to have my lunch & coffee out on my deck on this lovely mild sunny day. Might take advantage of it later to get my car washed.

Bob's taking the day off tomorrow for Mon Ami Gabi's outdoor "Monet & Rosé" luncheon, with the producer of the immersive exhibits as guest speaker. He wants to do the immersive Van Gogh if it's still playing anywhere. I wish the Art Institute would bring back the Van Gogh/Gaugin exhibit instead. He's working Saturday but off Sunday, so we're going to a special Air & Water Show watch party at the restaurant attached to Theater on the Lake. The party will be on its south lawn--with an open bar & BBQ buffet--but we're bringing our own chairs (which they suggest doing since they may not have enough). And because it goes on rain or shine, we'll also bring ponchos. General admission includes nothing but the right to sit on the ground (or one's own chair) and buy simpler refreshments. One would think that the VIP tickets would entitle us to one of their chairs--or refuge indoors if the threatened storms materialize.

Oh my goodness. He hasn't been there long and that is a lot of support to go w/o. Two wks. could be a long time for him. Could you call him a time or two during the day as well as leave cards. Could be safer for all concerned to have the quarantine, but sure wish your husband had been there longer bfore it happened. Likely hard for you too. I'll be thinking about you and hoping that the time passes fast. Hugs.

My 95 year old aunt is in a nursing home. My sister says she is not expected to last long, but she is all there. I ordered a popup card for her. Should be arriving today. She is the last of the generation. She has a family reunion planned with her funeral. Only one person I don't want to see. Better than some families.

Made another three jars of spiced peaches-- cloves and star anise.

Looks like they spiffed up some Amish carriages.

Thinking of you MC. We have some of your issues with some in the family. Mainly on Dh's side. Things have changed a little for us here though. One BIL ( youngest actually who bought our old house from us and loved it so much ) passed away three yrs. ago. The other brother in law has had issues since shortly after youngest brother with short term memory issues so he can't live at home. Is in a residential facility. So, just one bil ( married to the only sister in the family and she passed 7 yrs. ago, as well as one other who lives here in town. The two we have seen most are okay. The one now ( after a really long time ) has finally learned that there are some things we just don't talk about in this town. I speak mainly of political conversations. Had trouble with it for yrs. I did a lot of family cooking for get togethers and I finally made a rule -- the minute you start your political talk I will pack up my food and go home. I was only put to the test once. The stomachs won. I quit packing and stayed.

Religion and politics can be difficult and this is a VERY small town. About 13,000 people. Most of the people here will never be caught discussing either of the aforementioned subjects very much. I can count on one hand since we came back home which was in 1997.

My kids ( actually they are adults ) found a dog late this morning. She didn't have a collar but is a puppy. They feel ( quite likely ) she was dumped. We are getting ready for the annual Balloon Fest and there will be a huge amt. of people in town at all hours. It would be ( if you were prone to such a thing ) prime time to leave an animal. Of course being rescuers pretty much ( my family just sorts of naturally falls into it ) we ( they really ) couldn't leave the puppy. She looks a might thin. We can't keep her, but have to let her stay with us overnight since by the time we picked her up the Animal Shelter was already closed for the day. I am distressed with the idea that anyone would do this and hope that the Shelter can find a good home for this pup. She is sweet and minds fairly well. She does have some Pit Bull in her which wouldn't matter to us, but we have two older dogs and ALL the cats and I do not want to start over with puppies or kittens right now. If we lose one of the dogs here, I would likely go looking for an 'older' in need of home doggie. Puppies and kitties while fun to watch and interact with live too long and we are willing to continue providing a home as long as we can but part of our requirement now is -- we hopefully be able to outlive the animal so that no one else has to learn to love he or she. Our kids would likely do it, but easier if they no one has to have to.

Yesterday I worked a bit in the garden, did some housework. Took Tippy out for a brisk walk while I rode bike. Then I rode over to a friend's house for our book-club (quilting was at the same time in the same neighborhood). Went home, got Tippy, and went to bike mechanic's house. We tinkered around with my bike, then went for a ride before we went to the park for a concert. Old rock music. I got some kale seeds which I will put in the garden today, and the popup card for my aunt. Hopefully the sewing machine needles will arrive today. Amazon is now delivering rather than handing over to USPS.

I am still frightfully busy.

Mary, you certainly are busy.

Wren, I missed the news that your dh was in a nursing home. Hugs for both of you as you deal with this difficult situation.

I'm skipping women's golf today and doing laundry. The weather is uncertain with possibility of rain showers. I may end up using an umbrella as I walk back and forth to the laundry room.

Spent last 2 days weeding areas that are overgrown. The one by the stream I plan on putting in daffodils to naturalize so no mulch until the bulbs are in. This was about 4 large garbage bags of weeds. The second area where the junipers are planted near the patio abuts the neighbor's property which is overgrown and neglected since they cannot see it from their house. However, I see it from my patio and the weeds invade my garden. I have cleared a section which is about 3-4 feet wide by 20-25 feet long which I am planting with pachysandra. In the lower section of this section the pachysandra from my yard just spread towards their driveway on its own, so I am just "helping" the upper section. I took out 4 large black trash bags of weeds and probably have 2-3 more to go. I thin my pachysandra and transplant to this section. It is looking rather sparse so I will have to add more. The pachysandra is great at cutting down on the weeds so this is why I am encouraging this barrier. Yesterday I spread 7 bags of mulch in other beds and today I spread 7 in the juniper area. It will most likely require at least 20 bags so DH is off to Home Depot for more.

It has been cooler in the mornings with slight breezes so it has been nice to work outside. I lost so much time when we had the heat waves and had to restrict myself timewise outdoors or focus on inside work rather than the gardens. So I feel like I am playing catchup outdoors as well as inside. I still have things to do in the living room and foyer plus getting more boxes out of the dining room. Sent 4 boxes to Purple Heart, have 2 for the Teachers group and some that are under scrutiny for keep or donate.

Need a shower after all the weed pulling and mulching so off I go. Have a good day.

• Oh, life gets complicated! I've been so concerned with need for left hip replacement that all I've done, read, has been to educate myself about it and to interview Doctors. I've sort of let BC fall by the wayside in my mind and worries. Pretty silly. Have decided on surgeon. Hip replacement was scheduled for September 14. Then I realized I had to have Covid test 72 hours before and isolate until surgery which meant that I couldn't keep six month MO appointment on the 12th. Very responsive MO changed appointment to August 30. I was able to reschedule surgery for the 12th.I can get the Covid test on the 9th at the same hospital where I am due on the 9th to get yearly mammo and first ultrasound. Freaking out with scanxiety that they will find more BC on Friday and that I will go into hip surgery on Monday knowing BC has returned Tempted to reschedule mammo and ultrasound, but may curse myself for that depending.Confused..

Judy, glad you were able to reschedule the exam & THR. As to scanxiety, it is exceedingly unlikely that you have mets.

What a difference a day makes! HK and landscaper put down sticky traps & plugged likely mouse holes, and exterminator came and plugged more of them, leaving behind some old-school spring traps. Also sprayed (pet-safe) for creepy-crawlies. Landscaper also removed the "ragweed plantation" next to the garage and installed photoelectric motion-sensor light fixtures on the front porch ceiling and the exterior wall by the deck.

Blue Angels rehearsed this afternoon for the Air & Water Show. My cats are old & deaf enough to have been pretty chill about it, but Leslie & Gordy's dog went nuts--she's gonna have a rough weekend. The Blue Angels will practice again tomorrow.

Good morning. I hear thunder, but it is not yet raining. I hope tp get to the library to return some books. I think early voting is available there, so I will get that out of the way. My friend's husband has a history of bilateral lung transplant and was showing signs of rejection. The started him on steroids, put in a chest tube, stated antibiotics and did some type of surgery. He is currently in ICU. Another friend, my cousin in law, just received news her brother died. It has been an eventful week.

Wrenn: Hope the Covid scare is nothing more than that for your DH and I hope you can figure a way to be able to communicate with him. My DFIL had Alzheimer's and talking on the phone for him was frustrating because he could not realize that there was a person connected to the message. You had to be face to face, so if this is also true for your DH, maybe they can use Zoom?

Petite1: Sorry to hear about your friend's DH as well. Hope they can find a solution.

Cindyny: great job on hacking down those trees.

Keywestfan: Good luck with your surgery. I find I am very anxious pre-surgery but the day of surgery, I am surprisingly very calm. Beats me why.

Today was more weeding with 2 more bags pulled and I think I am done in that section. I had 14 bags of mulch and they have all been laid. Sent DH to Home Depot for 6 more and that should finish this bed. I will transplant pachysandra tomorrow. It was much warmer today so I had to cut it short because I hate when sweat gets in my eyes. I should invest in a sweatband.

We are taking a 2 week trip to the Pacific Northwest on an organized tour with a few days before it starts and a few at the finish that we have booked additional day trips. This is our first trip since March of 2020. We had just returned from a 10 day tour of the Greek Pelopennesus when the world shutdown 2 days later. So it feels strange to have to think about packing, etc. We need the break and the chance to see more of this great country. I have only been to WA and CA so seeing Oregon and spending time in Northern CA will be new experiences.

Hope everyone has a good Friday and weekend.

Thinking of all with various needed tests, or those who had any just done. Hope it all goes well. Really normal to feel apprehensions about testing -- more so I think with the seriousness of disease and treatments. Hopeing it all comes out fine. I expect to hear from all of you yrs. and yrs. from now but of course, that means I keep doing well too. My little unterior motive I guess.

Sort of a tough day. I do have my colonoscopy prep FINALLY. Of course, I now have to wait till the next opening which is Sept 12th. Well, that's okay. If all is fine I won't have to have anymore the Dr. said, so just a question of getting through this one, eventually.

Anyway. we had to take Bill, our black retriever to the Dr. a couple days ago. He just wasn't doing well at all. Had lost wt. Turns out his arthritis was acting up. So to put wt. on we are to not limit his diet right now -- he was on a grain free diet for his yeast infection issue and he also is just an 'allergic' dog. So that lead to diahhrea and he was a real mess this morning. We had to get him a huge bath ( thank goodness he has his summer cut ) and cal the Vet to see what she wanted to give him for the loose bowels. Pepto Bismol. I have been cooking chicken breasts for him and he is eating those really well. So for now he is on the chicken diet with a bit of lamb on the side. His steroids should be kicking in and he should start feeling better soon. He has really been laying around and taking it easy which is good for him. Neither of our dogs are young anymore although Mini is smaller and always seems to have more overall energy. She still darts here and there quickly. Her snout has turned mostly white though.

The kids left this afternoon for Florida. They will make a stop in Georgia. My daughter has a good friend who lives there and also her son and his wife ( the ones who recently visited with us here ) are there in their new home. It will be VERY quiet around here which Dh and I are sort of looking forward too. The kids have been with us almost a yr. now and while we are not sure how well our yr. might have gone ( I had the big medical downfall with the open hart surjury ) had they not been here, some of it has been confining a time or two. So we are looking forward so the quiet of coming and going and going and doing for ourselves as we did for yrs. beforehand. The mowing is done and most of the big chores. DSIL's son is here and we can call on him if we need too. Hoping we don't need anything though. Now with no one needing to sleep late from working late I will be able to do things in the house that may be noisy. I've left a number of things and it will definitely be catch-up time for me.

Hope you all had a good day.

When we are aware that each moment of each day, each gesture
and step we take, is truly mystical and full of wonder, we will live
our lives with greater thought and care. We will also have greater
respect and appreciation for the lives of others.

Daisaku Ikeda